The aim of the controllers’ presence on flights is to reduce the crew’s workload
Air Force Agency – DECEA, Lieutenant Raphaela Martorano
In the midst of one of the largest Brazilian repatriation missions in the history of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), the Airspace Control Department (DECEA) has started to support the government action, called Operation Returning in Peace, with air traffic controllers assisting the crew in aeronautical phraseology. The professionals joined the flights on the KC-30 and KC-390 Millennium aircraft on Friday (13/10) and will be involved in humanitarian aid until the reintegration of the Brazilians in the Middle East is complete.
“Due to the complexity of the scenario, which requires the crew to coordinate logistics and pay attention to all the details of a mission to repatriate Brazilians in a conflict area, we understood that the presence of an experienced air traffic controller would reduce the workload of the crews. Therefore, these military personnel began to directly assist the pilots in aeronautical phraseology, enabling uniform in-flight communications, with clear and concise authorizations, which contributes to flight safety,” explained DECEA’s Director General, Air Brigadier Alcides Teixeira Barbacovi.
[Aeronautical phraseology is a set of predetermined phrases and words in the English language, used by pilots and flight controllers to ensure clear, fast and safe communication during flight. The first DECEA air traffic controller to embark for Tel Aviv, a city on the Israeli coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Petty Officer Alexandre Milton Lima dos Santos, spoke about the support provided on this mission. “We are present in the cockpit throughout the journey, always attentive to verbal communication between the pilot, co-pilot and the air traffic control agency, especially in international airspace. In this way, we help reduce the pilots’ workload, so they can focus on more complex and urgent needs during the flight,” he explained.
He was on board the KC-30, which landed at Galeão Air Base (BAGL) in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) in the early hours of Sunday morning (15/10), carrying 215 repatriated Brazilians and 16 pets. Upon disembarking, the Petty Officer described the experience and shared the feelings of the crew and the repatriated Brazilians.
“It’s an honor to be able to serve our compatriots at such a delicate time. Seeing the joy of the passengers when they arrived in Brazil, the praise for the crew and receiving words of recognition for fulfilling the mission certainly gave me the feeling of having done what I swore to do, along with the other members of the Brazilian Air Force, when we joined,” he added.
Photos: Sergeant Davi Carlos da Conceição / 2nd/2nd GT